Killer Genius

 

Hollywood has taken a lot of crime and thriller tropes and mass-produced them like assembly-line cookies. They then ride those tropes into the cliched dirt. One of the most egregious Hollywood overreach is the killer genius.

Thomas Harris popularized (if not minted)  the killer-genius trope with his medical-doctor-cum-serial-killer physician, Hannibal Lecter. Lecter’s brilliance is only exceeded by his depravity. A psychiatrist by training, he has a surgical insight to human behavior which is why two separate FBI agents turn to him for help in tracking other killers. 

Meanwhile, Lecter has plans of his own. In short, if you haven’t read The Red Dragon or Silence of the Lambs, go, do, now, run-run-run.

But the real-life germ of the genius trope predates Lecter. Robert Franklin Stroud, better known as the “Birdman of Alcatraz” was in fact one of the inspirations for Lecter. Born to a doting mother and an abusive, alcoholic father, Stroud ran away from home at 13, was a pimp by 18, and a murderer by 19. 

But what made Stroud unique is not his body count but his intellect. The abuse and resulting adolescent flight required him to develop keen observation and analytical skills just to survive. Once in prison, he found a nest of abandoned hatchlings, which unlocked his curiosity and provided an outlet for his observational and analytical talents. 

When he exhausted the prison library of everything they had on birds, he wrote letters, begging for books from colleges and avian biologists. As a result of his studies and observations, Stroud wrote multiple papers on avian diseases and behavior. His IQ was estimated to be between 110 and 120. Well above the average of 98.

"If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree..." NOT Albert Einstein

Caveat: an IQ is a crude measure of intelligence. It is subjectively narrow-focused. It is also the most prevalent measure as well as the easiest to digest. With that stated, high IQs no more helped Leopold and Lobe commit/get away with the "perfect murder" than being rich and well educated. Both morons had IQs well over 150—and were caught within days of killing Bobby Franks. 

So, Hannibal Lecter is book smart, like Robert Stroud. Also like Stroud, Lecter is immune to threat and inured to punishment. Both Stroud and Lecter fought inmates and guards with equal brutality, both ended up in solitary for life. Stroud for killing a prison guard. We don't have enough time to cite all of Lecter's transgressions. Seriously, read the books or at least watch watch the movies. 

A master manipulator, Stroud mitigated his pathological tendencies depending on his agenda. He could be disarming, (and made a compelling case for his release from prison to actor Burt Lancaster). Stroud could also be perversely sadistic as when he met with a young college student who sought to interview him. Instead, Stroud told the student, in shocking detail, all the things he would like to do to him. Anyone who’s read SotL will recognize parallels between Lecter and Stroud—especially in relations to Multiple Miggs.

But while Harris was writing, The Red Dragon, (the first book to feature Lecter) Theodore Robert Cowell was in the middle of a series of startlingly sadistic murders. Better known as "Ted Bundy," he would stalk, torture, and kill over 20 women, (confirmed) across seven states. An honors student with eyes on law school, Bundy purportedly had an IQ of 130. Also a master-manipulator, Bundy used his good looks and disarming bearing to dupe women into trusting him.

From Ted Bundy, Robert Stroud, Wayne Williams, and many others, it would seem that high IQs are a serial-killer trait. However for every Ted Bundy there is a Henry Lee Lucas. A career predator, Lucas’ murders spanned from the 1960’s to the 1980’s, interrupted only by prison stints. 

"The only good is knowledge. The only evil is ignorance." —Herodotus

Begining with adolescent burglaries and escalating to killing his own mother, Lucas was in and out of prison for nearly half his life. While incarcerated, Lucas suffered every form of brutality, including electro-convulsive treatments and psychotropic medication experiments. Lucas’ purported IQ was in the mid-80s.  

Similarly, Gary Ridgeway, (aka the Greenriver Killer) was prolific, confessing to 48 murders to escape the death penalty. In fact Ridgeway claimed to have killed 71 women between 1980 and 1998. Ridgeway’s IQ was measured in the low 80s. 

While no conclusive measure of Dennis Rader’s intelligence exists, the BTK killer’s IQ has been estimated in the mid-80s. In fact Rader only popped up on police radar after the BTK killer asked police if a floppy disk could be traced back to him. 

See, BTK had been taunting police directly (through letters) as well as through letters to the Wichita Eagle newspaper. Encouraged by their answer, BTK sent a floppy disk of his writings, (Rader considered himself a poet). Police traced metadata on the disk back to the church where Rader volunteered. Most people wouldn’t know about metadata, even now. Most people wouldn’t ask the police about what may/may not incriminate them, either. It’s worth noting that Rader has a degree in electronics and was an early user of personal computers.

If they’re (not-so) smart, how did they evade capture?

There are several factors that contribute to Lucas (et al) avoiding arrest for years/decades. The FBI’s Behavior Science Unit was in its infancy through the span of most of these killings. DNA investigation would not even be a thing until 1987. 

Also, decades of investigations into local-police corruption resulted in a total lack of cooperation between the feds and many local municipalities. To add insult to injury, FBI agents were notoriously dismissive of local police and their investigative techniques. In cases in which the bureau and local police worked together, jockying for media attention and credit for “breaking leads” led to conflict, (e.g. the Atlanta Child Murders). The net effect was huge cracks for criminal suspects to fall into. Or, to use the technical verbiage: a pissing contest.

Meanwhile, Lucas learned, (in prison) to change up his methods and the transient nature of his life meant his hunting range was much wider than the average serial. So, if he strangled a victim in Florida, he would stab the next victim in Texas, and bludgeon the following victim in California. Without a national database or even an open channel between local police and the feds, no pattern meant no ties between the deaths, just “isolated” killings. 

Ridgeway hunted prostitutes and runaways. They were the women and girls no one looked for. Further, they were women who were not easily identified, women who (seemingly) no one cared about. His choice of prey shielded him from serious investigation.

So, how were the bad guys (who weren’t Dennis Rader) caught?

Lucas was arrested with a firearm, (even in Texas it's illegal for a convicted felon to have one). The local sheriff was investigating the disappearance of Becky Powell, a teen girl who had been living with Lucas. The sheriff felt certain that Lucas lied when he said Powell had been homesick and left for Florida. Unable to crack Lucas’ story, the sheriff called in Texas Ranger Phil Ryan. While in transit Ryan instructed the sheriff to take Lucas’ cigarettes, cut off the coffee, and cut him to short rations.

Cognitively challenged girls do not hitchhike across the country by themselves.

Ranger Ryan arrived the next day, (Texas is big, yo) treating Lucas to cigarettes, hamburgers, and caffeinated soft-drinks. With a full belly, a smoke, and a Coca-Cola, a "softened up" Lucas practically told the ranger his life story, including how he killed Powell. Just as important, Lucas alluded to several other killings.  

Ridgeway's advantage became his undoing. He returned to the same hunting grounds. He used the same method of execution, (strangulation) for all his victims. 

Still, Ridgeway’s capture was ultimately a joint effort between the FBI and local police. Arrested twice for solicitation of prostitution, Ridgeway was questioned by the Greenriver Killer Taskforce. Released after passing a polygraph test, Ridgeway did surrender a saliva sample. The FBI used that swab and the then-new science of DNA analysis to link Ridgeway to one of the victims. 

Like Rader and Lucas (for that matter Bundy, Ramirez, and Williams too) Ridgeway happened to skate by police for so long due to disorganization and lax/unequal prioritization of victims. Once police and federal authorities became properly motivated, (public demand/outrage) and adapted their methods it was only a matter of time before these monsters were captured. The jury is still out on justice for the victims but at least many of them have been accounted for though many of the deaths remain an indictment on law enforcement and the society it represents. 

So, who does serial killers right?

Caveat (part two): I don’t read widely in the sub-genre. Most tend to exploit (revel in) graphic violence against women. I don’t judge, it’s simply not my jam. 

That stated, Thomas Harris is the gold standard. His Dr. Lecter is offset by Francis Dolaryde (The Red Dragon) who is based on Dennis Rader, (methods more than pathology/personality). However, like Rader, Dolaryde is educated with technical skills/training and a firm command of using physical intimidation. But neither exhibit an above-average intelligence. In Silence of the Lambs we get Jame Gumb who uses Bundy’s methods but lacks his confidence and social intelligence. In fact Gumb’s success derives less from his intellect than dumb luck, much like Ridgeway.

Honorable mention to John Sanford. Yeah, he wrote a Lecter knockoff in Dr. Michael Bekker in Eyes of Prey. But he also gave us Robert Koop, (Night Prey) who resemble's Dennis Rader in BTK (bind, torture, kill) methods. Note: Sanford’s work is graphic and unrelenting which is why I dropped the series. However, the writing, (as may be expected from a former newspaper man) is first rate.

As always, I encourage you to write your interests. You want a serial killer who’s brilliant? Go for it. You want that genius with a jones for torture and murder? Shoot the moon. Just do your homework. Start with some non-fiction: Stranger Beside Me, by Ann Rule (she worked with Bundy, like at the next desk) or Mindhunter, by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker (about the formation of the BSU) in the 1970s. Harris’ The Red Dragon, while fiction is also a great primer as you see Will Graham fighting entrenched turf wars, old attitudes, oh, and TWO serial killers—one on the streets and another in his head.

The photo at the top, "Hannibal movie poster," is the property of MGM Pictures/Universal Pictures. It is used here for instructive/education purposes as covered by the Fair Use Doctrine.